Hit hard by lockdown, three-wheeler makers stare at long road to recovery

Demand for the last-mile vehicle has collapsed amid restricted movement

The ubiquitous autorickshaw, the popular tuk-tuk criss-crossing Indian cities till recently connecting people to their last mile, is now few and far between. Amid lockdown and restricted movement, domestic three-wheeler sales have taken a severe pasting. And August numbers don’t show recovery either.

During the month, market leader, Bajaj Auto sold 7,659 units, against 35,085, while TVS Motor sold 10,172 units, compared to 14,604 in the year-ago period.

Piaggio Vehicles, the second-largest in the pecking order, hasn’t released its August sales numbers yet.  

Mahindra & Mahindra also saw year-on-year drop of 94 per cent to 307 units.  

Cumulative despatches of